Vermont Man Arrested After Giving Trooper Middle Finger Gets $175,000
A Vermont man, Gregory Bombard, received $175,000 in a settlement after being arrested for giving a trooper the middle finger. The case raised free speech concerns amid police actions.
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A Vermont man, Gregory Bombard, received $175,000 in a settlement after being arrested in 2018 for giving a state trooper the middle finger. Bombard argued his First Amendment rights were violated. The officer, Jay Riggen, pulled Bombard over twice, leading to his arrest for disorderly conduct, charges later dropped. The lawsuit claimed the police circulated Bombard's mug shot and towed his car, causing further distress. The settlement saw Bombard receive $100,000, with $75,000 going to his lawyers. The officer and state did not admit wrongdoing. The attorney general's office declined to comment. The case highlighted the intersection of free speech and law enforcement, with a court previously ruling the middle finger gesture as protected speech. Bombard's lawyer cited the George Floyd incident as a catalyst for exposing police misconduct. Bombard, while satisfied with the outcome, still feels the humiliation from the arrest. Officer Riggen retired, and the state police made no further comments on the matter.
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9 commentsAnyone with an ego so fragile has no business wearing a badge. I'm disappointed that Jay was allowed to retire when he clearly should have been fired, but I'm thrilled that he won't be a cop anymore.
There needs to be felony prison time for cops who pull this kind of thing.
The root of the problem is thus: by turning the police in tax collectors, we've created an environment ripe for abuse by government. The most peaceful and non-violent exit is to reduce the collection of taxes, giving us an offramp, and freeing them to actual investigate and prevent violent crimes and thefts.
In France to give the middle finger to a policeman or soldier or any other state representant would be considered an offense. People would be fined for this, and not even our leftists would contest that.
"Flipping the proverbial bird is a God-given, Charter-enshrined right that belongs to every red-blooded Canadian. It may not be civil, it may not be polite, it may not be gentlemanly. Nevertheless, it does not trigger criminal liability."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/middle-finger-god-gi...
And also it would be a better to use "state trooper" since word trooper can also describe other professions.
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